


A Rose and a Promise

by mythireandfire



Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age: Origins
Genre: Bonding, F/M, Family, Fluff, Friendship, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-11
Updated: 2015-08-11
Packaged: 2018-04-14 03:26:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,312
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4548498
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mythireandfire/pseuds/mythireandfire
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tamlen gets and unexpected gift from Alistair that in turn becomes and unexpected gift for Mahariel.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Rose and a Promise

The fire in the center of camp burned bright and Tamlen could feel the warmth of it even though he stood on the outskirts of the clearing. While it made him sweat, he welcomed it. The night's had been wet and cold the past week, the Fereldan weather changing intermittently between lengthy drizzles of rain or thick curtains of fog that slowly soaked you to the bone.

Tonight was blessedly clear with a sharp chill in the air, the stars standing out in stark relief against the blue black sky. Tamlen shifted his weight and sighed, the plume of vapor hanging in the air for a few seconds before disappearing into the wind. On the other side of the camp, Tamlen could see Sten keeping guard as well.

He pivoted slowly, looking over the camp. Most of the others had already taken to bed for the night, with the exception of Zevran, who was lounging outside of his tent tending to his blades. He could see two lumps on the ground a few feet away from the fire; Leliana and Mahariel, fallen asleep where they had sat discussing their last journey.

He found himself staring at the mound he guessed to be Mahariel. He hadn’t gone with her this last time, and the whole while she had been away he had been a terror to be around. The only one who would have been able to approach him would have been the dog—but Mahariel had taken the war hound with her. So he had paced, and worried, and fumed the two weeks she was away. The ones left at the camp thought it a good chance that Tamlen would rip into his fellow elf when she returned. He hadn’t though. When she had returned he had murmured soft words to her and tended to her minor wounds, making sure that she was taken care of—a task he had put upon himself ever since they were children.

The sound of footsteps approaching quickly snapped Tamlen to attention and he turned to find Alistair striding towards him. Tamlen’s lips thinned into a hard line at the sight of his fellow Warden.

“Mind if I bother you for a spell?” Alistair asked cheerfully.

“Don’t you always?” Tamlen grumbled and turned his gaze back out to the wilderness. “I thought you were asleep? You just got back from that trip after all.”

“Sleeping would be nice,” Alistair said somberly. “But those pesky little darkspawn dreams just won’t go away.”

Tamlen grunted but didn’t comment. He had had his own disturbing dreams lately—one of the reasons he was keeping guard instead of resting with the others.

They stood there in silence for a time, Alistair shifting his weight awkwardly while Tamlen studiously ignored him. In truth, what really bothered Tamlen was that he was beginning to like the man—it was very hard not to with his awkward charm—and it irritated him to no end.

He was so used to putting all his anger and frustration out on the shems, but after spending the time he did with these humans…he couldn’t hold on to that resentment. Even Morrigan, with all of her arrogance of elven lore and superior attitude was warming up to him. He scowled into the darkness—Mahariel’s softness to the shemlens was wearing off on him.

“I hear you and Zev got into a bit of a spat while we were away,” Alistair said, breaking the silence.

“If you mean that I reminded him of his place, then yes.”

“Sten said you found him in your tent?”

Tamlen allowed a smile small. “Too his credit he wasn’t trying to steal anything. He was just snooping in Mahariel and mine’s belongings.” Frowning, Tamlen turned to Alistair. “You didn’t come over to bother me about me shoving Zevran’s face into the dirt—what’s wrong?”

“Actually,” Alistair said, hesitantly. “There’s something I wanted to give you.”

One of Tamlen’s brows shot up. “Give me?”

“Yes, well,” Alistair knelt and Tamlen saw that he had brought his rucksack with him. He watched the man warily as he began rummaging around in the bag. “I’ve been holding onto it for a while,” he said, almost shyly, as he pulled out a folded piece of cloth. “I found it in Lothering, but after some thought I think you should have it.”

Alistair gently unfolded the material to reveal a beautiful, if a bit travel weary, red rose.

“You must be joking,” Tamlen said horrified. “Please tell me you’re joking.”

Alistair’s brows shot up. “Why would I be joking about a rose?” And then realization dawned on the humans face and he turned bright red. “Oh! You think this is—like I’m—no no no. I mean you are handsome don’t misunderstand—“

“I’m leaving. You can take over my watch.” Tamlen said hotly, his face burning. He couldn’t believe this was happening.

“Wait, wait just a second!” Alistair pleaded, laughing just a little at the look on Tamlen’s face.

“I swear, shem, you better have a good explanation.” Tamlen threatened darkly.

“Maker’s breath,” Alistair smiled. “I’m not giving you a token of my affection, Tamlen, though I can’t _began_ to tell you how you stole my heart as you threw your Dalish slurs at me—don’t hit me!” Alistair laughed, putting his hands up in defense as Tamlen stalked towards him.

“So help me, Alistair…”

Alistair chuckled once more, but then cleared his throat and turned serious. “I want you to have it so you can give it to Mahariel.”

That made Tamlen pause. “Why?” He asked, suddenly suspicious.

Alistair rubbed the back of his neck and stared out into the woods. “Mahariel is like a sister to me, and while I know you aren’t particularly fond of me, I consider you my brother.”

Tamlen blinked in surprise, his irritation falling away in confusion. He opened his mouth, but found that he couldn’t find the words to say.

“Ridiculous, right?” Alistair said with an embarrassed grin. “In any case, when I first saw the rose in Lothering I had every intention to give it to Mahariel myself. Not in a romantic sense, mind you. I barely knew her at the time, but I thought she might like it. I think though, it will serve a better purpose coming from you.” Again Alistair offered the rose to Tamlen. “Please take it. Now that you know it’s not a token of my undying love.”

“Shem,” Tamlen scoffed, though without any heat to it. Hesitating for a moment, Tamlen reached out and gently lifted the rose from Alistair’s hand.

“It’s not ridiculous.” Tamlen stated, slowly and reluctantly. Alistair stared at him, not quite comprehending. “You as our…brother. It’s not ridiculous. I know Mahariel thinks of you as her kin, and I do not entirely dislike you.

“As much as it pains me to admit it,” Tamlen said with a rueful grin. “I do consider you family…of a sorts.” And as he spoke, something settled in Tamlen and he felt the weight of the truth in the words he spoke. He meant them, and that seemed to lighten his shoulders just a bit.

“That makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside,” Alistair replied, practically beaming.

“Don’t mistake me—I will still hit you.”

“Could you really though? I mean, since you love me so much—OW!”

“Are you two fighting?”

Tamlen and Alistair turned towards the drowsy voice to see Mahariel, wrapped in a blanket, watching them through half-lidded eyes.

“Us? Of course not.” Alistair joked as he gently punched Mahariel in the arm. She swayed just the tiniest bit and gave him a warm smile before opening her mouth in a yawn.

“Somebodies sleepy,” Alistair half-sang, and then chuckled as he looked at Tamlen. “Let me know when you want to switch out. I’m too awake to be going back to sleep anytime soon.” And with that he walked with a bouncing step to the bonfire.

Tamlen watched him go and shook his head in exasperation at the man. He felt Mahariel come closer and smiled when she gently head-butted him on his shoulder affectionately.

“Shouldn’t you be sleeping?” He asked, wrapping his arms around her until she was pressed against his chest with his chin resting on the top of her head.

“I was,” came her muffled reply, “but I heard you and Alistair talking. I wanted to make sure everything was alright.” He smiled at the soft admonishment in her voice. “ _Is_ everything alright?”

“Better than you think,” he said while pressing his lips into her hair. She wore it down instead of in a tail as was her usual, and the loose strands tickled his nose.

She sighed into his chest and wrapped her arms around his torso, leaning into him heavily. He took her weight, lifting her off the ground for a few seconds, just enough to elicit a small laugh from her. He rarely heard her laugh in the recent days. He remembered how her laughter would peal through the forest like bells.

When he set her back on the ground, he lifted her chin up and brought his lips down to hers. There was no passion in the kiss, but it was sweet and full of love. Tamlen sighed in contentment and rested his forehead against hers. “I love you.”

“And I you, Ma vhenan,” she replied softly.

“Do you remember,” he started, rocking her slightly in his arms, “when Master Ilen took us to that human village to trade for supplies?”

Mahariel smiled at the memory. “I remember. You weren’t supposed to come but you refused to let me go to some “shem” town unless you went with me. You put up such a fuss Master Ilen finally relented just to shut you up.”

“Do you remember that flower stall,” Tamlen pressed, “the one with those dark red roses you wanted so badly?”

“Yes, I do.” Tamlen could hear the wistfulness in her voice. “I’d never seen roses like those before. The wild roses in the forests were always so small and light in color. I was upset that Master Ilen wouldn’t let me buy one, but I understood that we didn’t have the money for something frivolous like a flower.”

Tamlen gently pulled away from her and brought the hand that held the rose in front of her. “Would you still like a rose?”

Mahariel stared at it quietly for moment before reaching up to touch the petals, but stopping short as if touching them would harm it. “Where did you get this?”

“What would you say if I told you Alistair gave it to me?”

“I’d say that you’re joking.” She replied dryly.

“But I’m not.” Tamlen smiled, brushing a lock of hair off Mahariel’s forehead. “He did give it to me. He told me to give it to you as a present since he had no use of it.”

“It’s beautiful,” she whispered, timidly taking it and running it under her nose. Her eyes closed as she inhaled the sweet scent of the flower. “I can’t believe he found one in our travels.” When her eyes opened they had a dreamy quality to them. “I’ll have to thank him.”

“You can thank him in the morning,” Tamlen commanded firmly, putting away his bow. Mahariel made a small noise of surprise as he gently swept her up in his arms and proceeded to carry her to their tent. “For now, you need to rest and regain your strength.”

Mahraiel laughed and wrapped her arms around his neck. “Alright, Lethallin,” she pressed her lips to the side of Tamlen’s throat and then buried her head against his neck as she yawned. “I’d thank you properly, but I’m afraid you’ll have to wait until I’ve had my beauty sleep. Otherwise, I’m useless.”

“Your happiness is enough of a thank you for me,” Tamlen crooned, lifting her closer to him and enjoying the warmth she brought with her.

“Hmmm,” Mahariel muttered, already starting to fall back to sleep, “happy I am but I want to make you happy as well.”

“Well, I _suppose_ we could stand to have a little fun tomorrow night, but only if you promise to sleep tonight.” Tamlen smirked as she grumbled unintelligently at him. “You have to promise.”

“I can’t believe you making me promise not to sleep with you until tomorrow.”

“You can’t even hold your head up right now—I’m doing you a favor. Promise?”

“Fine,” Mahariel relented, the drowsy slur in her voice making Tamlen fight back laughter. “I promise not to make love with you until I’m well rested and properly awake.”

“That’s my girl,” Tamlen said brightly, then in a low voice, “now let’s seal the deal.”

He coaxed her lips to his and she happily obliged, kissing him tenderly, and holding him to her when he would have pulled away. Breathing her in, Tamlen lost himself to the kiss for a moment, parting her lips with his tongue, a pleased rumble building in the back of his throat when she moaned softly in pleasure. He forced himself to pull away, fighting to control his heartbeat and his breathing.

“There. The contract is sealed,” he teased.

“You’re horrible,” Mahariel managed, looking a bit dazed.

“You won’t be saying that tomorrow.”

“Creator’s, Tamlen, Zev can hear us you know.”

“He’ll be hearing us tomorrow too.”

_“Tamlen.”_

He snickered at the chagrin in her voice, and then rubbed his nose against her cheek. “Come, Ma Vhenan. It’s late and you promised to rest.”

“And you are very close to breaking that promise.” She said ruefully.

“Never have I broken a promise,” Tamlen said with false solemnity, “and I don’t plan on starting to anytime soon.”

And kept his promise he did, as they slept through the night sharing their warmth and breaths.

 


End file.
